Last night, Rachel Maddow revisited Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate and the performance of former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee.
For all the flack Chafee received for his at times blundering performance, Maddow argues that Chafee’s focus on the Iraq war was prescient given President Obama’s announcement yesterday that he would not withdraw troops from Afghanistan as previously planned. Chafee’s criticism of of Hillary Clinton’s vote in favor of the Iraq war also gave Clinton the chance “to talk about that vote and apologize for that vote in a way that honestly pretty much settles it,” as Maddow put it.
She went on,
“So Lincoln Chafee, of all people, jumping on that issue, reminding voters of that war and peace issue, testing whether or not that war issue will still be kryptonite for her politically the way it was in the past, giving her that chance, which she took, to try and put that issue to rest and to try and turn that to her advantage finally, well…thank you, Lincoln Chafee. Putting the war back into our national politics the way you did. Because, honestly without you, Lincoln Chafee, I’m not sure the war issue would be in our national politics right now. And it turns out we really need it to be in our national politics right now.”
Watch, below:
